Printers capable of printing characters in various fonts and formats onto a web of record members are known to include a microprocessor for controlling the operation of the printer. One such printer, a hand-held labeler, stores the software for controlling the operations of the printer in a read only memory such as an EPROM and stores the data to be printed on a label in a RAM. This known printer may be coupled to a host computer to change the data stored in the RAM using software alone, that is, by downloading new data from the host computer into the printer's RAM. However, in order to change the operations or available features of the printer as defined by the software stored in the EPROM, the printer must be disassembled, the EPROM removed and exposed to ultraviolet light to erase it and the EPROM reprogrammed using a specialized programmer module. The process of reconfiguring the printer by altering the software stored in the EPROM is both time consuming and costly.